Home Q News Music News Lady Gaga’s dog kidnap suspect rearrested after being mistakenly released from jail

Lady Gaga’s dog kidnap suspect rearrested after being mistakenly released from jail

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ABC/Randy Holmes

Lady Gaga can breathe a sigh of relief — the man suspected of shooting her dog walker and kidnapping her French bulldogs has been rearrested after he was erroneously released from jail in April.

KABC confirms James Howard Jackson, 19, was arrested without incident. He is accused by authorities of shooting dog walker Ryan Fischer in the chest with a .40-caliber handgun when stealing two of Gaga's French bulldogs.

Authorities tracked Jackson down to an address on Apricot Drive in Palmdale, California. After executing a search warrant at the location, the suspect was found and arrested.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in April Jackson was mistakenly released due to a "clerical error." The suspect had attended a hearing on April 5 but was then "inadvertently" released from custody.

In July, the U.S. Marshals Service offered a $5,000 reward in exchange for information that could lead to Jackson's whereabouts. He was considered "armed and dangerous" at the time.

Jackson, along with Jaylin White and Lafayette Whaley, kidnapped Lady Gaga's two French bulldogs Gustav and Koji in February 2021. Fischer was shot during the struggle. The three men were charged with attempted murder, conspiring to commit robbery and second-degree robbery.

White was sentenced Wednesday to serve four years in state prison after accepting a plea deal where he pleaded no contest to the latter charge. The two other charges against him were dismissed.

Whaley's hearing has been scheduled for September 20.

Lady Gaga's missing dogs have since been found. White's father, Harold White, as well as Jennifer McBride were charged as accessories to attempted murder after McBride claimed she "found" the dogs and tried to claim the $500,000 reward Gaga offered for Gustav and Koji's safe return.

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